ISLAMABAD: The Federal Law Minister, Mr Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, has refuted the claim of Maulana Mufti Mahmud that as a result of the talks the President had with the parliame­n­tary parties’ leaders at Murree, he had acc­e­p­ted the demand for the restoration of the NAP-JUI Governments in the NWFP and Bal­u­c­histan. …[H]e said that apart from being abs­olutely incorrect, Maulana Mufti Mah­mud’s claim was “highly irresponsible, reflec­ting immaturity on the part of its author. He said the President had not given any assurance to the Opposition leaders for the restoration of the previous NAP-JUI Government in the Frontier and Balochistan. — News agencies

[Meanwhile, according to news agencies from Kenya,] The Anglo-French supersonic airliner “Concorde”, with seven scientists aboard, yesterday [June 30] chased the moon’s shadow across Africa at twice the speed of sound to give man his longest look at a total eclipse of the sun. On the ground, too, conditions were ideal for studying the total solar eclipse… . Hundreds of scientists from around the world gathered on the south-east beach of Lake Rudolf … to observe the eclipse, which blotted out the sun for almost five minutes. … Bewildered tribesmen looked skyward as the sun dimmed… .

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2023